Garthim War

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Gelflings have always been peaceful. That is our way, but our land is no longer at peace. We’ve never had to live in fear like this. So we have to try something different. Maybe we lose. But if we do not change our ways, there is only one outcome - we die.

The Skeksis, under the leadership of skekSo, originally lived in peace with the Gelflings, with numerous members of the latter race having taken residence in the Castle of the Crystal itself. However, as the Skeksis aged, they became increasingly obsessed with preserving their youth, and began to keep Gelflings as slaves, draining them of their essence to reinvigorate themselves. The Gelflings took council in prophecy, and learned that a Gelfling would end the rule of the Skeksis by reuniting the Shard of the Division with the Crystal before the third Great Conjunction. The Skeksis learned of this and, in response, created the Garthim to capture and kill all Gelflings on Thra.[3]

Being a peaceful race, the Gelflings were initially defenseless against the Garthim. The remaining Gelfling clans became nomadic, traveling long distances to escape from the Skeksis' clutches. A large number of survivors from different clans took refuge in the caves of the Namopo Valley, where the elders debated whether or not to continue running, or hold their ground. Among the survivors was Larh, a shepherd who became the first of his kind to have killed a Garthim in combat. When scouts reported large numbers of Garthim heading towards the Valley, Larh convinced the Gelflings to stay and fight.[4]

Before the battle started, Neffi, a Gelfling female from the destroyed village of Greengrove, fashioned a large spiked net to fence off the Garthim from the Valley's interior. Behind the net, the Gelflings, some of which were mounted on Mounders, armed themselves with makeshift weapons fashioned from everyday objects. When the Garthim reached the valley, they were temporarily held back by the net, while the Gelflings behind it stabbed at the weak points in their armour. Winged female Gelfling scouts provided a distraction by flying around the Garthim and shooting rocks at them. The Garthim eventually breached the net, taking several Gelflings prisoner and killing the elder Vhant. Nevertheless, the Gelflings' fierce resistance took the Garthim aback, and they retreated for the first time since their creation.[4]

Larh and Neffi infiltrated the Castle of the Crystal to rescue their people taken during the Battle of Namopo Valley. The other survivors of that battle initially refused to participate, but changed their minds out of guilt. Once again mounted on Mounders, the survivors of the battle trekked to the Bah-Lem Valley just in time to stop the Garthim and skekUng the Garthim Master from recapturing Gelfling prisoners rescued by Larh and Neffi. In the ensuing battle, Larh confronted skekUng, threatening to destroy all his Garthim if the prisoners were not released. SkekUng rejected the ultimatum, and consequently every single Garthim was destroyed.[1]

The successes of the Namopo Valley survivors ultimately proved fruitless, as the Garthim were eventually rebuilt, and managed to destroy all but two Gelflings; Jen and Kira, both of whom would play a fundamental role in reversing the Great Division.